Cork & Olive files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Cork & Olive, the wine bar startup that abruptly closed its Tampa headquarters and eight company-owned stores last week, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in Tampa Monday. The filing comes after the company laid off 40 workers around the Tampa Bay area and left nine franchised locations in the lurch, including an Orlando location that had been open only a week. Company president Michael Probst said he had been working on the assumption a New York hedge fund was going to invest about $3-million in the company. But when the fund insisted on taking a controlling interest, Probst opted to shut down instead.